Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a six way power transfer seat used by persons confined to wheelchairs for transferring from a wheelchair to a vehicle driver or front passenger seat and operating controls for such a power transfer seat.
Description of Related Art
Six way power transfer seats provide three movements for a person confined to a wheelchair to transfer from the wheelchair to a vehicle driver or passenger seat and subsequently to a forward position within the vehicle suitable for driving. In particular, such seats are capable of moving forward and rearward in the vehicle fore/aft direction, upward and downward, and rotationally about a vertical axis. The displacement of the transfer seat is typically two to three times that available in an OEM operated seat base. A four way power transfer seat is also common and is produced by forgoing either the raise and lower function or the swivel function of the six way power transfer seat, thereby creating a system that can be made available for less cost in applications where all three ranges of motion are not required.
Since their introduction in the early 1980's, nearly all transfer seats have been operated with a user control interface consisting of toggle switches; two switches for a four way power transfer seat and three switches for a six way power transfer seat. Early control designs featured two or three toggle switches arranged in a row atop a small box located approximately at the hip on the inboard side of the bucket seat. Without looking at the layout of the switches of such an arrangement, it was difficult to select the proper switch for the function desired. An improvement to the early design was to change the shape of the box so that the switches could be more directionally oriented.
Whether arranged in a straight line on a small box or directionally oriented, another concern of the operator is the inadvertent operation of a seat movement function while the vehicle is underway. Accordingly, further improvement involved the addition of a guard to minimize the potential for inadvertent operation. Such guards also serve to protect the switches during the transfer process but do not limit the movement of the switch.
Additionally, different vehicles employ different seat mounting systems. The current approach for mounting a power transfer seat within a vehicle requires that a different seat base (i.e., a separate SKU) be provided to accommodate every different vehicle.